Meat sector organisations have warned a UK parliament committee that the industry will suffer dire consequences should Britain crash out from the European Union (EU) in March 2019 without having negotiated a Brexit deal with its current EU partners.
A senior official at the US Meat Export Federation has told GlobalMeatNews how he regrets small signs of recovery in the US-Russian meat trade have been snuffed out by the latest expansion of Moscow’s meat import ban.
Rising food prices, regulatory uncertainties and challenges from international trade deals post-Brexit will conspire to create a “perfect storm” that threatens to rain on the UK food industry’s parade.
The EU’s plan to import thousands of tonnes of South American beef is under fire from trade bodies who warn it could have a “devastating impact” on business.
A body representing EU farmers has warned Brussels bureaucrats not to accept cheap meat imported from South American trade bloc Mercosur, produced to poorer standards than European protein.
Poultry producers from the European Union (EU) must use the international stage to demonstrate their high-quality, added-value products to target global markets.
Antibiotics and labelling have stalled the flow of meat from Canada to the European Union (EU) just days after a compressive free trade agreement came into force.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC), an industry body representing UK retailers, has warned that British shoppers could pay as much as one-third more for “everyday food items” in the event of a “no deal Brexit”.
A British trade union has attacked the CETA trade deal between Canada and Europe which comes into force later this week (21 September) adding it sets a bad precedent post-Brexit.
Flexibility and imagination may be in short supply during ongoing Brexit talks but the UK also faces the prospect of ‘gaps on food shelves’ if a deal is not agreed, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warns.
The UK government has said it wants to reach a deal that will see “no hard border in the movement of goods” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland following the country’s exit from the European Union.
The UK government’s approach for an interim Customs Union to protect business from a 'cliff edge' post-Brexit has been given a warm, if cautious, reception from food industry representatives.
With concern mounting that post-Brexit free trade agreements could hit food safety standards in the UK, a government spokesperson insists food safety issues are of the “highest priority” to future trade talks.
Policy-makers must take Brexit as an opportunity to enhance the UK’s ability to produce British food, according to the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU).
Australian beef exports are up year-on-year for the first time in 24 months, with more growth expected after Japan hit the US, Australia’s biggest competitor, with a hefty tax hike.
The UK should use Brexit to “lower and ultimately eliminate” trade tariffs on food imports and review all scientific evidence on food safety, including genetically modified (GM) foods and chlorine-washed chicken.
Russian agriculture holding Miratorg has changed all corporate branding to reflect its “evolutionary development as a leader in the Russian meat market”.
Tariff and exchange rate uncertainties after Brexit could expose the UK to “considerable and unpredictable” changes in food prices as well as previously banned practices such as chlorine-washed chicken, a think tank concludes.
Brazil pork exports are down amid political turmoil, but Russia, which has alienated the world’s biggest pig meat traders, has little choice but to buy Brazilian.
Improving the UK's efforts in trade, skills development and innovation are key recommendations in a Food and Drink Federation (FDF) - commissioned report that outlines ways to boost the country’s 2.2% share of the global food and drink export market.
Worries over cold chain integrity and food safety in the imported meat business have arisen in China, where authorities are seeking to trace the origins of a shipment of Danish pork found in a city dump.
The EU and Japan have reached what the bloc is calling its “most important bilateral agreement ever”, with the main principles of a free trade deal that will enhance meat exports essentially done.
The price of key commodities like soy and wheat could surge unless the vulnerabilities at the world’s most important trade “chokepoints” are assessed and the risks mitigated.
With a recent European resolution calling for tariffs and trade barriers against any palm oil linked to deforestation, Malaysia's minister for plantations and commodities warns: "We will react and respond accordingly to any discriminatory measures...
Britain’s food and drink exports remain robust thanks to the weaker pound with UK food and drink exports for Q1 2017 valued at £4.9 billion (€5.6 billion), according to the Food and Drink Federation (FDF).
Pecan Deluxe which exports more than 75% of its bespoke cakes, biscuits, sauces and desserts to the EU, has hired overseas trade specialist, Chamber International, to offset any challenges posed by Brexit.
The EU will amend import rules for Chinese chicken after a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel sided against the European bloc in a trade quarrel that stretches back two years.
UK political uncertainty has pushed Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) to fire the starter gun on non-EU countries clambering to expand market access in Britain, as the country moves towards Brexit.
The UK’s food sector will face “enormous challenges” following Brexit, both in relation to trade with Europe and within its own borders, according to a report by the House of Lords EU energy and environment subcommittee.
Pressure from all angles to cut meat consumption for health or environmental reasons had the single biggest impact on the industry last year, according to an exclusive GlobalMeatNews survey.
Brazil is continuing to grow its pork exports and even the recent meat corruption scandal had little to no impact on rising volume trade, Rabobank has claimed.
The Irish minister for agriculture has presented a new seven-point Brexit plan for the food and drink industry, highlighting the country’s particularly precarious position as the UK’s neighbour and chief trading partner.
In the first quarter of 2017 Ukraine’s largest poultry processor MHP exported 49,150 tonnes (t) of poultry, 60% more than during the same period of the last year, the company’s press service has revealed.
A US beef industry-backed petition wants 100,000 signatures to put pressure on the White House to, in its own words, “ban unsafe imports” of Brazilian meat.
Interpol wants international assistance in its investigation into alleged fraud against the Brazilian pork and poultry industry, with one trade association admitting the sector has been hit with external attacks, GlobalMeatNews can reveal.
